Gallery: Get to Know 19 Winery Dogs and Cats

Remi of Macari Vineyards (Long Island)

Winemaker Kelly Urbanik Koch always brings Remi to work on the North Fork. "Her favorite thing is walking through the vineyard and checking in on the vines," says Kelly. "In fact, she refuses to go inside the winery when we arrive in the morning unless we have gone for a vineyard walk first! She will sit just at the edge of the crush pad and protest until we go. During harvest she always wants to tag along when we head out to the vineyard for berry sampling. She also likes to sit at the glass door between the winery and tasting room and check out who's visiting us in the tasting room." (She's not a puppy anymore, but we couldn't resist this photo.)

Jackson of Cameron Winery (Dundee, Oregon)

Jackson (shown working hard during pruning season) is 11 years old. "She sits on the back seat of the van whenever John [Paul, Cameron's owner/winemaker] makes wine deliveries. She is the winery greeting committee and constant companion whenever we are in the vineyard. She keeps tabs on the whereabouts of our chicken tractors, hoping to pick up scraps that the chickens leave behind. Her best (non-human) friend is Guido, the 15 year old winery cat. She is, however, not at all fond of the goats," says Teri Wadsworth of Cameron.

Reese of Sheldrake Point (Finger Lakes, NY)

Reese is a Rottweiler mix, found as a stray and rescued by Sheldrake’s tasting room manager and assistant winemaker. Reese sometimes runs in the vineyard, but she's more often found making friends in the tasting room.

Koda of Matthiasson (Napa)

This German Shepherd is "very smart and likes to entertain visitors," says Jill Klein Matthiasson. "He goes up to people with a stick in his mouth to play fetch but he won't let go of his stick because of his breeding as a police dog, bred to hold on to things and not let go. At the winery, he's obsessed with barrel bungs and can hold up to 3 in his mouth at once," says Jill.

Moose of Simi Winery (Healdsburg, CA)

Moose is vineyard operations director Tom Gore's yellow lab. "Moose lives to go to work out in the SIMI Vineyards each day; he actually gets so excited in the mornings that he does a full 360-spin as soon as I let him out of the gate," says Gore. "Moose has a habit of eating the grapes on the vineyard, which makes him especially handy during the months of harvest. He can actually be quite helpful in monitoring the sugar levels of the grapes! We know the sugar level is climbing if he goes in for a second cluster. The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes tend to be his favorite," says Gore.

Bobes the Cat of Hirsch Vineyards (Sonoma Coast)

Poor Bobes has been bitten by rattlesnakes twice and survived. Tough guy! He appeared on the Hirsch Bohan Dillon Pinot Noir label from 2006 to 2010.

Finbar of Bedell Cellars (Long Island, NY)

This golden retriever's name is a spin on 'Fionnbharr', which means 'fair-headed one.' He especially loves children and often comes out into the tasting room to play with them.

Stella of Poe Wines (Anderson Valley)

Samantha Sheehan of Poe Wines sent us this shot of Stella, her Lurcher—the breed is a cross between a greyhound and deerhound. "Stella loves to steal and devour whole clusters of grapes during harvest," says Samantha. "She also loves to chase jack rabbits in the vineyard. She's had some pretty epic rabbit chases."

Hobie of Hazlitt Winery (Finger Lakes, NY)

11-year old Hobie was found as a kitten near the door of the office building, behind the Hazlitt Winery tasting room. He was too young to be away from his mother so he was bottle fed until he was able to eat on his own. One of his favorite activities is bringing frogs into the winery office to leave under people’s desks.

Sophie of Massican and Larkmead (Calistoga, CA)

Dan Petroski adopted Sophie from friends in Napa when she was 7. She's 15 now. "She comes to work with me almost every day. And having worked basically alone in the cellar for seven years, she has truly been my companion every step of the way." She gets very excited at a chance to taste wine: "Whenever we taste in the cellar and use the floor drains as a spittoon, she is right there to snap at and catch the wine before it reaches the drains. It is our version of David Letterman's 'stupid pet tricks,'" says ﻿Petroski.

Tookie of Lakewood Vineyards (Seneca Lake, NY)

This Australian Shepherd is vineyard manager Dave Stamp's dog. She starts her day chasing two goats out to their pasture, and then runs along beside the tractors and 4-wheelers and rides on the grape harvester in the fall.

Audrey of Crowley Wines (Oregon)

"Audrey is an 8 year old border collie lab mix who grew up amongst the vines," says Emily Crowley. "She is a fetch-a-holic and is best known for dropping throwable objects (tennis balls, pruning clippings, stray pieces of 2x4) onto people’s feet. When she’s not fetching, Audrey spends her days watching the vines grow and making sure the cats are staying in line."

Chef of Copain Wines (Healdsburg, CA)

Copain's Assistant Winemaker Mike Lucia brings Chef to work: "Chef's job at the winery is kind of like being a busboy, but instead of taking the leftovers to the kitchen, he takes them straight to belly. He hunts gophers and moles and chases deer away. He's a listener and an observer," says Mike Lucia.

Bowie and Django of Arnot-Roberts Wines

Meet the 'official greeters' of Arnot-Roberts in Healdsburg, CA. "Bowie is the one with the blue eyes and makes sure all food is accounted for," says Duncan Arnot Meyers, "and Django the red heeler makes sure all sticks are fetched and eventually chipped into small bits for composting."

Pintas of Wine & Soul and Quinta do Passadouro (Portugal)

Shown with owners Sandra Tavares da Silva and Jorge Serodio Borges, Pintas is a mix of Pointer and Argentine Braco. He keeps keep Sandra and Jorge company around the vineyard, traveling between vineyards, the winery, office and home. He also loves grapes so he is always very close to the sorting table, just in case.

Nina of J. Christopher Wines (Oregon)

Named after Nina Simone, this winery dog is hanging out in the barrel room with winemaker Jay Somers. "Her main job at the winery is keeping track of the ball, and keeping the younger dogs in line. She has a great life from riding around in the winery van delivering wine and running around the 40 acres at the J. Christopher winery on Chehalem Mountain," says Somers.

Bailey and Frankie of Elizabeth Chambers Cellar (Oregon)

Winemaker Michael Stevenson of Elizabeth Chambers Cellar has two dogs. Frankie (the littler black one) follows Michael all over the winery. Bailey was a stray dog that Michael rescued from the pound about 7 years ago; she’s afraid of the sounds of the winery and she sleeps in the front seat of Michael’s truck parked outside the front door of the winery each day, and comes in for short visits, shaking nervously the whole time.

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